Bronze Plaques Michigan

Michigan is one of four states that give families a legal footing to buy a marker from anyone. Under MCL 456.538 a registered cemetery may not refuse a grave memorial because it was not bought from the cemetery, though it may hold everyone to the same rules on quality, size, shape, type and installation. The catch in Detroit is that the protection does not reach church or municipal cemeteries, and the area’s largest Catholic operator, the Mount Elliott Cemetery Association, accepts granite grave markers only. Roseland Park and Woodlawn, both run under Everstory’s September 2023 rules, take bronze on an approved granite base. This page covers Detroit in full: the statute, its exemptions, each major cemetery’s rules with their dates, and Great Lakes National Cemetery. We cast the bronze and ship it with the price in US dollars; the base and setting are arranged through the cemetery or a monument dealer.

MCL 456.538: no buy here only rule at registered cemeteries

Michigan’s Cemetery Regulation Act lets the Cemetery Commissioner discipline a cemetery that “adopted, enforced, or attempted to enforce a regulation that prohibits the installation of a grave memorial or burial vault unless the grave memorial or burial vault was purchased from the cemetery.” The same section keeps the cemetery’s control over standards: it may adopt “consistent rules and regulations to be followed by both the cemetery and outside vendors as to the quality, size, shape, type, installation, and maintenance of the grave memorial”.

The exemptions are the important part in Detroit. LARA says cemeteries owned and operated by a municipality, church or religious institution are exempt from the Act, though a city may pass ordinances for its own cemeteries. Complaints about a registered cemetery go to LARA at 517-241-9221 or LARA-Cemetery@michigan.gov. Michigan’s statute is one of four state rights described on our USA page.

Mount Elliott Cemetery Association: granite grave markers only

The Mount Elliott Cemetery Association runs Mt. Elliott, Mt. Olivet, Resurrection, All Saints, Guardian Angel and The Preserve. Its rules dated 6-11-2025 say “Grave Markers to be placed in this cemetery must be of granite and will be set flush with the earth’s surface”, and at Resurrection and Guardian Angel the flush marker “must be 24″L x 12″W x 4″H”. The rules contain no bronze grave marker provision, “All foundations will be constructed by cemetery personnel”, and there is a Setting and Maintenance Fee for all memorials whose amount comes only from the office. As a church operated system it is outside MCL 456.538, so we do not offer a bronze grave marker for these cemeteries.

Holy Sepulchre and the CFCS cemeteries

Holy Sepulchre in Southfield, about 350 acres, is run by Catholic Funeral and Cemetery Services (CFCS), whose website blocks automated reading. Its location page lists flush and upright granite memorials and bench memorials; no bronze grave marker rule, size or fee could be read. Because it is church operated, the statute does not apply. Call CFCS at (248) 350-1900 and ask whether bronze is permitted in your section before ordering anything; we make no promise for it.

Roseland Park and Woodlawn under Everstory’s September 2023 rules

Roseland Park at 29001 North Woodward Avenue in Berkley and Woodlawn at 19975 Woodward Avenue in Detroit are Memorial Planning cemeteries, a brand of affiliates of Everstory Partners. They follow Everstory’s rules “Effective September 2023”: bronze sits “on a rectangular base made of granite approved by the Cemetery”, foundations are built “by the Cemetery or a qualified Memorial Service Contractor”, a “manufacturer affidavit” may be accepted, and charges must be “reasonable, non-discriminatory and uniform”. The Memorial Planning rules page (modified February 24, 2026) adds that memorials “shall be purchased from and installed by either the cemetery or an approved and qualified contractor” and that “Bronze markers are subject to separate rules and regulations”, so ask each office for its bronze sheet. As commercial cemeteries they are presumably registered, which would bring MCL 456.538 into play, but their registration has not been checked; ask the office.

Historic Elmwood and White Chapel

Historic Elmwood at 1200 Elmwood Avenue (rules revised February 2007) says “All memorials must be made of the highest quality standard bronze or of granite approved by the Cemetery” outside monument lots, with individual grave markers set flush. It also “reserves the right to require the purchase of any and all markers from the Cemetery or approved producers or retail dealers”, and “All markers and monument foundations shall be placed by employees or agents of the Cemetery only.” A sketch with dimensions, material and lettering is required, and its own menu includes single and companion bronze markers. Ask the office, at 313-567-3453, whether it will approve an outside plaque before you order.

White Chapel Memorial Park in Troy “offers a variety of bronze memorial grave markers” through its named supplier and publishes no rules or fees; ask at (248) 362-7670.

Detroit cemeteries at a glance

Great Lakes National Cemetery and veterans

Great Lakes National Cemetery at 4200 Belford Road in Holly offers casket and in-ground cremation burial and an above ground columbarium wall. As in every VA national cemetery, the cemetery orders and sets the government headstone, marker or niche cover, and “Floral items and other types of decorations will not be secured to or laid upon headstones, markers or niche covers.” A private bronze marker is not the route there. In a private Michigan cemetery that allows bronze, a veteran’s family can order its own marker with service emblems and request a VA bronze medallion for a privately purchased marker; placement costs there are at private expense. See veteran bronze grave markers.

What we supply for a Michigan grave

Where bronze on granite is allowed, as at Roseland Park and Woodlawn, the 24 by 12 inch flat marker is the default offer: we cast it to order for $1,697.45, shipping included, subject to each cemetery’s bronze sheet. A 20 by 10 inch cremation marker is $1,407.68 and a 16 by 8 inch infant or cremation plaque is $978.39.

We supply the bronze. Every plaque is cast in solid LG2 statuary bronze (85 percent copper, 5 percent tin, 5 percent zinc, 5 percent lead) with raised polished lettering on a textured background, a hand applied color and a clear protective coating. Cemetery markers are cast with lugs and fitted with 3/8 inch brass all thread studs, nuts and washers for bolting to a granite or concrete base; columbarium plates use 1/4 inch fittings. We publish the alloy openly and can supply a certificate of authenticity stating it, so a cemetery that has its own alloy rule can check our figures against it before you order; a few cemeteries specify a higher copper or lower lead content than LG2, and where a page knows of one it says so. The granite or concrete base and the setting are arranged through the cemetery office or a local monument dealer; we do not pour bases or install.

What the plaque itself costs, shipped to Michigan

The table below is our price for the cast bronze plaque itself, read from the design tool on this website on 21 October 2026 for a standard rectangle with the default border and background. Every figure is in US dollars and includes shipping to any address in Michigan.

Any cemetery charge quoted higher on this page, such as a setting fee, a permit, a foundation or an endowment care charge, is paid to the cemetery and is separate from our price. Add the two together for the full installed cost. Open the design tool, type in the size your cemetery allows, and the exact price for that size appears before you order.

How to order

1. Ask the cemetery office for its written marker rules: the size it allows for your space, the base it requires, who may set the marker and the fee. Most offices email the sheet the same day, and several states require the cemetery to keep it in print for you.
2. Open the free design tool, pick the shape and type the width and height in inches. The price in US dollars updates as you go, shipping to any address in the continental United States included.
3. Add the names, dates and wording, choose a border and background, and add an emblem, motif or photo if you want one. Choose lugs with studs if the plaque will be bolted to a granite or concrete base, or a flat back for adhesive mounting on a wall or niche.
4. Save the design and order it from My Account. We send a written proof you can forward to the cemetery for approval, and nothing is cast until you approve it. Need the full 24 by 12 inch marker size? Tell us when you order; it is cast to order at the same price as the 22 1/16 by 12 inch size in the tool.

Allow six to eight weeks from payment to delivery. Casting, hand finishing and shipping from our foundry take most of that time, and we send a free written proof before anything is cast. If your cemetery sets markers only in certain months, order early enough for its next installation window.

Frequently asked questions

Does Michigan law let me buy a bronze marker from anyone?

At a registered cemetery, yes in substance: MCL 456.538 lets the Cemetery Commissioner discipline a cemetery that bars a memorial unless it was bought from the cemetery. The cemetery may still apply the same quality, size, type and installation rules to everyone.

Does the protection cover Catholic and city cemeteries in Detroit?

No. LARA says cemeteries owned and operated by a municipality, church or religious institution are exempt from the Act, so their own rules decide. Mount Elliott’s cemeteries accept granite grave markers only.

Can I use a bronze marker at Roseland Park or Woodlawn?

Everstory’s September 2023 rules, which govern both, set bronze on an approved granite base with the foundation built by the cemetery or a qualified contractor. Bronze has its own rule sheet, so ask the office for it and for the setting charge.

Does Historic Elmwood accept an outside bronze marker?

Its February 2007 rules allow high quality bronze but reserve the right to require markers from the cemetery or approved producers or dealers, and only its employees or agents place markers. Ask the office before ordering.

Can a private bronze marker go at Great Lakes National Cemetery?

No. The cemetery orders and sets a government headstone or marker. Our plaques are for private cemeteries that permit bronze.